Radcliffe Olympic

Radcliffe Olympic FC is a non-league football club, located in the large village of Radcliffe on Trent near Nottingham. Olympic were formed in 1886, making them one of the region's oldest clubs.

Standards were high at the club in its early days. Harry Daft played for the club in the early 1890s, winning five England caps as well as starring for Notts County. The side was crowned as Notts Alliance champions in 1900-01.

Wharf Lane in 2024

Division Town and the South Notts League were both won in the 1931-32 season. Olympic won three Midlands Amateur Alliance titles in six seasons from 1965-66, with the various teams representing the club collecting three titles in 1967-68. After a lean spell, Division One of the Notts Alliance was won in 1990-91.

This saw promotion to the Senior Division, from which they were relegated in 1992-93, with a further demotion to Division Two following in 1995-96. A runners-up spot twelve months later heralded a return to Division One, with another promotion to the Senior Division of the competition arriving in 2000-01.

An amalgamation in 2003 with local club ASC Dayncourt created one of the largest clubs in Nottinghamshire after the Notts Alliance title had been collected. This led to promotion to the Premier Division of the Central Midlands League, and being crowned as champions in their debut season as they progressed to the Supreme Division.

Olympic won the Central Midlands League in 2008-09, with promotion to the East Midlands Counties League being their reward. The team finished fifth and then second in their first two season in their new surroundings, with ninth being their next best return, in 2016-17.

The club went down to the Nottinghamshire Senior League at the end of the 2027-18 season, with Radcliffe being relegated from the Premier Division to Division One in 2018-19. The title was won in 2021-22 to return to the top tier of the competition. Olympic finished bottom in 2024-25.

Radcliffe Olympic will play in the Nottinghamshire Senior League Division One in the 2025-26 season.

My visit

Wednesday 16th January 2009

My Nottingham-based Scarborough Athletic mate, Pete Moss, had kindly taken me to some outlying grounds when he asked where I wanted to be dropped off. I had plenty of time left before my superb value £5 train ticket back to London. 

Keen though I was to sample some real ales in the city's numerous excellent pubs, it was still a bit early and the weather was pleasant. He dropped me off outside the City Ground, and I walked up to Trent Bridge Cricket Ground to get even more value from my Explorer Bus ticket.

Radcliffe on Trent was a charming, large village with nice lanes, country pubs and plenty of greenery. I found Wharf Lane and walked down to the Recreation Ground. It was a really nice venue, but lacking in facilities compared to what I would expect from a Step Six ground in the non-league pyramid.

The pitch sat below a hill with a playground with no perimeter fencing as such, and just a single rail around the pitch. Behind one goal was a building which housed the changing rooms. The roof overhung and had two rows of bench seats in front, although they were some distance from the pitch and at an angle away from it as well.

I wish Radcliffe Olympic well, and I really liked the village. However, I feel very sorry for clubs that play at the same level who have had to construct stands and fences to gain admission into the leagues.

The ground graders have been criticised by many people over the years. I see nothing wrong with having a set standard and decent facilities for spectators in the twenty-first century. However, they must be consistent rather than occasionally turning a blind eye just to fill league places.